Common in residential building structures, sheathing of an exterior wall is known to be covered with a siding material typically made of cedar, aluminum, plastic or other synthetic material often made to appear like wood. Often, various exterior appendages of the home such as cloths dryer vents, exterior light fixtures, electrical outlets, and water spigots must be trimmed-out around the siding for aesthetic reasons. This is commonly done with a mounting bracket. One such example of a known mounting bracket is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,920,708, assigned to the same assignee as the present invention and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The known mounting bracket has an internal base member that snap fits to an external trim member along an axis disposed perpendicular to the sheathing and during assembly. The base member has a continuous flange that projects radially outward and is typically nailed to the sheathing under the siding. Projecting axially or laterally outward from the flange and to an inner central panel is a continuous wall. Generally, the wall defines the perimeter of the central panel. A cutout communicates through the panel and has a shape generally dictated by the appendage projecting through it.
The trim member typically has a continuous partition that projects laterally and axially inward toward the base member, and an aesthetically pleasing flange that projects radially outward from the partition. An opening is generally defined by the partition and receives the wall and central panel when the bracket is assembled. The partition is generally shaped to conform with the wall. Multi-positional snap fit features are known to be carried between a radially outward surface of the wall and a radially inward surface of the partition. When the bracket is assembled, the close proximity of the partition to the wall causes the feature to lock the partition and wall together.
During construction of the building, once the base member is secured to the wall or sheathing, the siding material is installed over the sheathing and over the flange. The siding, however, must be trimmed so that it is slightly spaced from the continuous wall of the base member. This spacing allows room for entry of the continuous partition of the trim piece, yet is close enough to the wall of the bracket so that the ends are aesthetically concealed by the outer flange of the trim member which is substantially flush to the siding. Unfortunately, the siding is typically exposed to rain or water which flows down the siding and beneath the exterior flange. This water can accumulate and seep beneath the concealed ends of the siding and against the mounting flange of the base member. Accumulation of water directly against the mounting flange can cause water propagation outward from the wall of the base member and beyond the mounting flange, thus exposing the sheathing to moisture. The retained moisture can potentially create a host of problems including the rot of wood, disintegration of simulated materials and the attraction of unwanted insects.
To reduce or eliminate this water seepage, various bracket assemblies are known to be self-flashing for diverting water run-off away from the sheathing. One such bracket is taught in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0136060 A1, published Jul. 24, 2003 and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Unfortunately, most known self-flashing bracket assemblies can be mounted in one position only. Particularly, oblong or rectangular bracket assemblies must be separately manufactured with distinct features for horizontal and vertical orientations. This requires separate manufacturing molds/tooling and can complicate shipping and stocking of the product. To reduce manufacturing tooling and stocking of excessive bracket components (i.e. a distinct bracket for vertical mounting and a distinct bracket for horizontal mounting), a bi-directional mounting bracket assembly is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/459,697, titled “Bi-Directional Mounting Bracket Assembly,” assigned to the same assignee as the present invention, and incorporated herein by reference in it's entirety.
Because different types and designs of siding have varying thicknesses, and because it is aesthetically desirable to position the exterior flange substantially flush to the siding, multiple bracket components must still be manufactured generally for each siding thickness, thus multiple manufacturing molds/tooling must be supplied ultimately leading to high manufacturing costs. Although the above referenced “Bi-direction Mounting Bracket Assembly” has directional mounting versatility, it does not have versatility in accepting various siding thicknesses.
Yet further, known bracket assemblies that are adjustable for siding thicknesses require the continuous partition that projects axially inward. This partition adds expense in manufacturing. Moreover, the adjustability of such assemblies is still limited in incremental steps (i.e. three thickness positions).